Agilent Technologies GPIB/USB/LAN Interfaces E2094R IO Libraries Suite 15 Connectivity Guide with Getting Started Agilent Technologies
Notices Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2003-2008 No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including electronic storage and retrieval or translation into a foreign language) without prior agreement and written consent from Agilent Technologies, Inc. as governed by United States and international copyright laws. Manual Part Number 5989-6150 Edition Sixth edition, October 2008 Printed in USA Agilent Technologies, Inc. 3501 Stevens Creek Blvd. Santa Clara, CA 95052 USA Trademark Information Visual Studio is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Windows NT is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Windows and MS Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Software Revision This guide is valid for Revisions 15.xx of the Agilent IO Libraries Suite software, where xx refers to minor revisions of the software that do not affect the technical accuracy of this guide. Warranty The material contained in this document is provided as is, and is subject to being changed, without notice, in future editions. Further, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Agilent disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, with regard to this manual and any information contained herein, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Agilent shall not be liable for errors or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, use, or performance of this document or of any information contained herein. Should Agilent and the user have a separate written agreement with warranty terms covering the material in this document that conflict with these terms, the warranty terms in the separate agreement shall control. Technology Licenses The hardware and/or software described in this document are furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Restricted Rights Legend U.S. Government Restricted Rights. Software and technical data rights granted to the federal government include only those rights customarily provided to end user customers. Agilent provides this customary commercial license in Software and technical data pursuant to FAR 12.211 (Technical Data) and 12.212 (Computer Software) and, for the Department of Defense, DFARS 252.227-7015 (Technical Data - Commercial Items) and DFARS 227.7202-3 (Rights in Commercial Computer Software or Computer Software Documentation). Safety Notices CAUTION A CAUTION notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in damage to the product or loss of important data. Do not proceed beyond a CAUTION notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met. WARNING A WARNING notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in personal injury or death. Do not proceed beyond a WARNING notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met. Agilent Connectivity Guide
Contents 1 Getting Started...........................................9 Using This Guide............................ 10 Steps to Get Started.......................... 11 Agilent Web Resources....................... 12 Contacting Agilent........................... 12 2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite........................13 What is Agilent IO Libraries Suite?............. 14 Agilent IO Libraries....................... 16 Agilent IO Libraries Suite Utilities............ 17 Visa Open Reports......................... 24 System Requirements for Agilent IO Libraries Suite 15 25 Installing the IO Libraries Suite Software......... 26 Installation Troubleshooting................. 32 Selecting Application Software............... 34 Modifying, Repairing, or Removing IO Libraries Suite 35 Keeping Your Software Up To Date........... 35 Using Agilent 488 in Multi-Vendor Systems.... 36 Using Agilent VISA in Side-by-Side Mode..... 37 Custom Installation of IVI Shared Components.... 39 Uninstall the IVI Shared Components......... 39 Custom Install the IVI Shared Components..... 41 Specifying IVI and VISA Paths in MS Visual Studio 45 VISA and VISA COM..................... 45 IVI Shared Components and IVI Drivers....... 46 Agilent Connectivity Guide 3
3 Connecting Instruments to GPIB...........................47 GPIB Quick Start............................ 48 Step 1: Install Agilent IO Libraries Suite on Your PC 49 Step 2: Connect Instruments to GPIB Card........ 49 Install GPIB Cards in Your PC............... 49 Connect GPIB Instruments.................. 50 Step 3: Run Agilent Connection Expert.......... 53 Configure GPIB Interface Cards.............. 53 Step 4: Communicate with Instruments........... 57 Communicating Using Interactive IO.......... 57 Troubleshooting GPIB Interfaces............... 60 GPIB Troubleshooting Overview............. 60 GPIB Hardware Checks.................... 62 GPIB Software Checks..................... 64 Agilent IO Libraries Suite Checks............ 68 4 Connecting Instruments to USB............................71 USB Quick Start............................ 72 Step 1: Install Agilent IO Libraries Suite on Your PC 73 Step 2: Connect Instruments to USB............. 73 USB Interface Overview.................... 73 Connect USB Instruments................... 74 Step 3: Run Agilent Connection Expert.......... 75 Step 4: Communicate with Instruments........... 79 Check Identification Parameters.............. 79 Troubleshooting USB Interfaces................ 81 USB Troubleshooting Overview.............. 81 USB Hardware Checks..................... 83 4 Agilent Connectivity Guide
USB Software Checks...................... 84 Agilent IO Libraries Suite Checks............ 85 5 Connecting Instruments to LAN............................89 LAN Quick Start............................ 90 Step 1: Install Agilent IO Libraries Suite on Your PC 91 Step 2: Connect LAN Instruments............... 91 Network Topologies....................... 91 Directly Connect Instrument to Computer...... 93 Private Instrument Subnet................... 94 Private Instrument Subnet on Corporate Intranet. 95 Open Instrument Subnet of Corporate Intranet... 96 Corporate Intranet......................... 97 Across the WAN -- Using the Internet......... 98 General Issues with LAN Configuration........ 99 Step 3: Run Agilent Connection Expert......... 102 Add and Configure LAN Instruments......... 103 Step 4: Communicate with Instruments.......... 114 Communicate with Instruments Using Telnet... 117 Add a LAN interface...................... 118 Troubleshooting LAN Interfaces............... 122 LAN Troubleshooting..................... 122 Network Diagnostics...................... 130 Agilent IO Libraries Suite Checks........... 130 6 Programming Your Instruments...........................133 Programming Overview..................... 134 Obtaining Instrument Drivers............... 135 Using Agilent IO Libraries Suite Sample Code. 136 Agilent Connectivity Guide 5
Using VISA COM in Other Visual Basic Projects 137 Addressing Instruments...................... 138 Addressing Instruments via GPIB............ 139 Addressing Instruments via USB............ 142 Addressing Instruments via LAN............ 143 Sample Programs........................... 149 7 TCP/IP Network Basics..................................159 LAN Interface Overview..................... 160 Typical Network Topologies................ 160 LAN Hardware Architecture................ 162 TCP/IP Protocols........................... 165 The TCP/IP Network Model................ 165 The Network Interface Layer............... 167 The Internet Layer........................ 168 The Transport Layer...................... 169 The Application Layer.................... 171 IP Addressing............................. 175 IP Address Classes....................... 175 Subnets and Subnet Masks................. 177 Local and Remote Networks................ 178 IP Address Configuration Methods............. 180 Configuration Methods Overview............ 180 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). 181 AutoIP/ZEROCONF...................... 181 Duplicate IP Address Detection............. 181 Device Hostname Services................... 184 Device Hostname Services Overview......... 184 Dynamic DNS Naming.................... 185 6 Agilent Connectivity Guide
RFC NetBIOS Naming.................... 186 Static DNS Naming....................... 188 Configuring Your PC for LAN Operation........ 189 Checking PC Settings..................... 189 Installing Network Interface Cards........... 190 Installing TCP/IP on Your PC............... 190 Setting PC IP Address..................... 193 Setting PC Hostname..................... 194 8 Glossary...............................................199 Agilent Connectivity Guide 7
8 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Agilent Connectivity Guide 1 Getting Started This chapter includes: Using This Guide Steps to Get Started NOTE This version of the Agilent Connectivity Guide is valid for Revisions 15.xx of the Agilent IO Libraries Suite software, where xx refers to minor revisions of the software that do not affect the technical accuracy of this guide NOTE This guide does not describe LAN networks that include a gateway, such as the Agilent E5810A LAN/GPIB Gateway for Windows. See the applicable gateway documentation for information on gateway systems. Also, this guide does not provide a detailed description of LAN, USB, or GPIB interfaces or TCP/IP networks. Consult standard reference texts for this information. If you need to contact Agilent, see Contacting Agilent on page 12 for addresses. Agilent Technologies 9
1 Getting Started Using This Guide A typical complex test system includes a collection of instruments under the control of a PC that has been programmed to perform testing and reporting routines. Often, the communication between the test instruments and the PC involve various forms of I/O; refer to Figure 1. Figure 1 Example test system: PC, instruments, three types of I/O Configuring interfaces to connect your PC to the test instruments can be daunting. Agilent s IO Libraries Suite v15 significantly simplifies this task. This Agilent Connectivity Guide with IO Libraries Suite Getting Started describes in detail how to connect instruments to GPIB, USB, and LAN interfaces and how to configure and troubleshoot these interfaces on PCs with Windows Vista or XP operating systems. 10 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Getting Started 1 Steps to Get Started This figure shows suggested steps to start setting up GPIB, USB, or LAN interfaces and the applicable sections of this guide. CONNECTIVITY GUIDELINES Start Install Agilent IO Libraries Suite v15 Connect Instruments to GPIB Configure GPIB Network Communicate via GPIB Troubleshooting See Chapter 3, Connecting Instruments to GPIB Connect Instruments to USB Configure USB Network Communicate via USB Troubleshooting See Chapter 4, Connecting Instruments to USB Connect Instruments to LAN Select Your LAN Network Configure Instruments Communicate via LAN Troubleshooting See Chapter 5, Connecting Instruments to LAN Program Your Instruments Using IVI-COM Using VXIplug&play Using VISA Troubleshooting See Chapter 6, Programming Your Instruments REFERENCE INFORMATION Installing IO Libraries Suite What is IO Libraries Suite Installing IO Libraries Suite IO Libraries Revision History See Chapter 2, Installing IO Libraries Suite TCP/IP Network Basics TCP/IP Protocol IP Addressing Network Services See Chapter 7, TCP/IP Network Basics Agilent Connectivity Guide 11
1 Getting Started Agilent Web Resources System Developer Center Focus on what matters most: the performance, reliability and delivery of your product. Agilent Open is a versatile combination of hardware, I/O, and software tools that make it easy to create, enhance and maintain systems. The System Developer Center provides application notes, programming examples, instrument drivers, and much more: http://www.agilent.com/find/systemcomponents Test & Measurement Software and Connectivity Products You can find product information on interface cards, converters, and connectivity software at: http://www.agilent.com/find/connectivity Contacting Agilent In the USA, you can reach Agilent Technologies at this telephone number: USA: 1-800-829-4444 Outside the USA, contact your country s Agilent support organization. A list of contact information for other countries is available on the Agilent Web site: http://www.agilent.com/find/assist 12 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Agilent Connectivity Guide 2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite This chapter includes: What is Agilent IO Libraries Suite System Requirements for Agilent IO Libraries Suite 15 Installing the IO Libraries Suite Software Installation Troubleshooting Selecting Application Software Modifying, Repairing, or Removing IO Libraries Suite Keeping Your Software Up To Date Using Agilent VISA in Side-by-Side Mode Custom Installation of IVI Shared Components NOTE This chapter assumes that you are installing Agilent IO Libraries Suite from the Automation-Ready CD. If you are installing from the Web, double-click the downloaded executable to extract files and launch the setup program; then proceed with the software installation as documented in this chapter. Agilent Technologies 13
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite What is Agilent IO Libraries Suite? Agilent IO Libraries Suite is a collection of libraries that give you the ability to use your instruments from a test and measurement program, and utilities that help you quickly and easily connect your instruments to your PC. Agilent IO Libraries Suite speeds your success with software utilities that let you quickly connect your instruments to your PC, configure and verify your connection, and get on with your job whether that entails programming instruments or using pre-existing application software. For test and measurement programmers, the IO Libraries Suite brings the power of the industry-standard VISA and VISA COM libraries, as well as SICL and Agilent 488, to your programming experience. And with the new Driver Update Manager, Agilent Connectivity Guide helps you painlessly find and install the instrument drivers and other software you may need. Figure 2 on page 15 provides an illustration and a list of the components (libraries and utilities) that make up the IO Libraries Suite product. You can find more information about each of these components in the Agilent IO Libraries Suite Online Help. NOTE To access the Agilent IO Libraries Suite Online Help from the Connection Expert window, click Help > Help Topics on the menu bar or press the F1 key. To access the online Help without running Connection Expert, click the IO Control icon( ) in the Windows Notification area, click Documentation and then IO Libraries Suite Help. NOTE To find out where the Agilent Connectivity Guide components listed below have been installed on your system, click the IO Control icon ( ) in the Windows notification area, then click Installation Information. 14 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 Agilent 488 SICL VISA COM VISA Agilent IO Libraries Agilent 488 VXI Resource Manager Agilent Connection Expert Interactive IO VISA Assistant VIFind32 Agilent IO Control IO Monitor Interactive LXI Figure 2 Libraries and utilities that make up Agilent IO Libraries Suite. The Agilent Connection Expert and Agilent IO Control provide access to the other IO Libraries Suite utilities, as shown by the arrows. Agilent Connectivity Guide 15
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Agilent IO Libraries There are four IO Libraries included in Agilent IO Libraries Suite; each of them allows you to programmatically control instruments, send commands to them, and receive responses and data. The Agilent IO Libraries Suite Online Help provides guidelines to help you choose among these libraries; in general, VISA and VISA COM are recommended for new development. Agilent VISA Agilent VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture) can be used to develop I/O applications and instrument drivers that are interoperable with many other VISA applications from many vendors, and that comply with IVI Foundation standards (formerly VXIplug&play standards). Agilent VISA COM Agilent VISA COM is a COM (Microsoft Common Object Model) implementation based on the Agilent VISA architecture. Like VISA, VISA COM conforms to IVI Foundation standards. Agilent SICL Agilent SICL (Standard Instrument Control Library) is an I/O library developed by Agilent that is portable across many instrument I/O interfaces. Agilent 488 Agilent 488 is a GPIB I/O library provided by Agilent for compatibility with existing test and measurement programs that were developed using National Instruments NI-488.2 or other similar libraries. 16 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 Agilent IO Libraries Suite Utilities Agilent s IO Libraries Suite includes a number of utilities to help you connect, configure, and troubleshoot your test system. These utilities, described on the next several pages, include: Agilent Connection Expert (additional utilities are available under the Agilent Connection Expert Tools drop-down menu) Event Viewer (Microsoft Utility) Interactive IO ViFind32 (Debug Utility) VISA Assistant IO Monitor Agilent VISA Options Interactive LXI Click the Agilent IO Control icon ( area and select the appropriate utility. ) in the Windows Notification NOTE If the IO Control icon is not visible, you can display the icon by clicking Start > Programs > Agilent Connectivity Guide > Utilities > IO Control or, in Connection Expert, View > IO Control. Agilent Connectivity Guide 17
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Agilent Connection Expert Connection Expert is a software utility that helps you quickly get your instruments connected to your PC and troubleshoot connectivity problems. You can use Connection Expert to: Configure instrument I/O interfaces Automatically discover instruments that are connected to your PC or to the local subnet of your local area network Specify connections to instruments that are on your local area network beyond the local subnet Browse the structure and connections of your test system (including your PC, instruments, and interfaces) Detect and troubleshoot connectivity problems in your test system Create programming aliases that you can use in place of addresses to improve portability and readability of your test program Connection Expert includes a task guide (the left pane of the utility s window) that provides shortcuts to common tasks and information. Refer to Figure 3, Agilent Connection Expert Screen on the next page. New to IO Libraries Suite v15 is the Agilent VISA Open Report. Available from the I/O Configuration drop-down menu, this report shows the combined view of your system from a VISA program perspective. Conflicts or inconsistencies are listed and possible fixes are also listed. This report does not cover VISA-COM behavior. 18 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 Figure 3 Agilent Connection Expert Screen Agilent Connectivity Guide 19
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Agilent 488 Sets Agilent Connection Expert Options. Specifically Agilent VISA options, Configuration Settings, 82357B options, and Agilent 488 options which enables Agilent GPIB cards to work in NI-488-2 compatible systems. Also available under Tools>Options. Remote IO Server The Remote IO Server software provides a way to connect via local area network (Ethernet) to instruments that are physically connected to another PC on the network. When the Remote IO Server is running on one PC (the server), you can use instruments connected to that server from other PCs (the clients) by using the Connection Expert to create remote interfaces on the client PCs. See the Agilent IO Libraries Suite Online Help for details. VXI Resource Manager The VXI Resource Manager is a software utility that initializes and prepares a VXI system for use. If your system includes an E8491 IEEE-1394 PC Link to VXI interface, you can use the VXI Resource Manager to determine whether your VXI system is properly configured. The VXI Resource Manager runs when any of the following conditions occurs: You start it from the Connection Expert s Tools menu (select Tools > VXI Resource Manager > Edit Resources, then click Run in the resulting Resource Manager dialog box) You apply or cycle VXI mainframe power You press the E8491 Reset button You reboot your PC In VXI systems with multiple E8491 interfaces, you can turn off individual VXI mainframes without affecting other mainframes in the system. When a mainframe is turned on, the VXI Resource Manager reconfigures that mainframe. 20 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 Interactive IO Agilent Interactive IO is a software utility that allows you to interact with an instrument by sending commands to the instrument and seeing the instrument s responses. You can use Interactive IO to: quickly verify connectivity to your instrument troubleshoot communication problems learn the instrument's command set rapidly prototype commands and check the instrument's responses before writing code With Interactive IO, you can choose from a menu of common commands (listed in Table 1) or type in commands that are specific to your instrument. To start Interactive IO from within Connection Expert, click Tools > Interactive IO from the Connection Expert menu bar or click Send commands to this instrument on the task guide. You can also start Interactive IO from the IO Control by clicking the IO icon in the Windows notification area and then selecting Interactive IO. Note that some commands (such as *TST?, instrument self-test) may take longer than Interactive IO s default time-out; you can modify the time-out in the Interactive IO window by selecting Interact > Options... Figure 4 Interactive IO Screen Agilent Connectivity Guide 21
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Command *IDN? *CLS *OPC? *RCL *RST *SAV *STB? *TRG *TST? Table 1 Description The Identification query returns manufacturer, model, serial number, and firmware level or equivalent. The Clear Status command clears status data structures, and forces the device to the Operation Complete query idle state. The Operation Complete query places an ASCII character 1 into the device s Output Queue when all pending selected device operations have been finished. The Recall command restores the current settings of a device from a copy stored in local memory. The Reset command performs a device reset, which sets the device-specific functions to a known state that is independent of the past-use history of the device. The Save command stores the current settings of the device in local memory. The Read Status Byte query returns the status byte and master Summary Status bit. The Trigger command signals the transition of the Device Trigger (DT) function to the Device Trigger Active State (DTAS). The Self-test query returns zero to indicate the test completed with no errors. A return value not equal to zero indicates the test is not completed or completed with errors. Interactive IO Common Commands Event Viewer Invokes the Microsoft Event Viewer, which can be useful in debugging I/O programs 22 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 ViFind32 (Debug Utility) ViFind32 is a console application that uses the vifindrsrc and vifindnext VISA functions to enumerate all resources visible to VISA. This application is useful for verifying that all expected interfaces have been configured by Connection Expert, and that the expected devices have been attached. To run ViFind32, you can do any one of the following: Click Start > Programs > Agilent Connectivity Guide > Utilities > ViFind32 Click the IO Control, and then click ViFind32 In Connection Expert, click Tools > ViFind32 VISA Assistant The VISA Assistant utility is provided for your convenience, though most of its capabilities have been replaced by Interactive IO and Connection Expert. IO Monitor IO Monitor is a utility that traces the I/O calls of targeted library layers. Although IO Monitor is specifically targeted for the.net Framework, it also works for legacy applications that use the targeted I/O library layers. NOTE Agilent IO Monitor installed as part of Agilent T&M ToolKit will cease to function after IO Libraries Suite 15 is installed. IO Libraries installs a newer, revised version of IO Monitor. Agilent VISA Options Provides commands to set the Logging and LockWait options for the Agilent VISA library. Agilent Connectivity Guide 23
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Interactive LXI Agilent s Interactive LXI provides two user interface tools to learn about LXI Events and IEEE 1588 timing and also provide debugging tools for your LXI and IEEE 1588 systems. The Agilent LXI Event Explorer provides tools for creating/monitoring LXI events. The LXI Timing Explorer provides tools for monitoring the IEEE 1588 PTP clocks (setting time, selecting the system Master Clock, etc.). Visa Open Reports VISA Open Reports provide a quick snapshot of information about all of the hardware interfaces (GPIB, USB, VXI, etc.) configured on your PC. Open the Report: From Agilent Connection Expert, 1 Select I/O Configuration from the menu bar. 2 Select VISA Open Report. NOTE Test and Measurement Interfaces (T&M), such as GPIB or VXI, respond differently than standard computer interfaces (USB, LAN, etc.). In general, for T&M interfaces all instruments on an interface either pass or fail indicating the hardware interface is properly or improperly configured. However, with computer interfaces, one instrument may fail and all the others pass indicating the problem is with the actual instrument. For information on using the reports and the meaning of the various messages, refer to the Agilent IO Libraries Suite 15 help file; search for Visa Open Reports. 24 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 System Requirements for Agilent IO Libraries Suite 15 Operating System Processor Available memory Available hard disk space 2 Windows XP Service Pack 2 (or later) Windows 2000 Professional, SP 4 (or later) 450 MHz Pentium II or higher required, 800 MHz recommended 128 MB minimum (256 MB or greater recommended) 280 MB minimum, 1GB recommended for Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 65 MB for Agilent IO Libraries Suite Windows Vista (32-bit) (Business, Ultimate, Enterprise, Home Basic, Home Premium) 1 1 Ghz 32-bit (x86) 512 Mb minimum (1GB recommended) 280 MB minimum, 1GB recommended for Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 3 65 MB for Agilent IO Libraries Suite Video Super VGA (800x600) 256 colors or more Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB graphics memory recommended (Super VGA graphics is supported) Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or greater Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or greater 1 Windows Vista 64-bit versions editions are not supported. 2 Because of the installation procedure, less memory may be required for operation than is required for installation. 3.NET framework is installed by default with Windows Vista. Therefore, you may need this amount of hard disk space. If possible, you should always use the current version of the Agilent IO Libraries Suite. This version supports the newest interfaces and operating systems, and has the most advanced features. However, you may need an earlier version of the IO Libraries Suite to support an older interface or operating system. For example, Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0 is required for Windows 98SE or Windows Me. If you need an earlier version of Agilent IO Libraries, go to http://www.agilent.com/find/iolib to locate the version you need. Agilent Connectivity Guide 25
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Installing the IO Libraries Suite Software NOTE You must have Administrator privileges to install Agilent IO Libraries Suite Connection Expert. NOTE Every IO Libraries Suite installation is a Full installation In past versions of IO Libraries, there was an option to install IO Libraries as either a Full version or a Runtime version. Beginning with IO Libraries Suite 14.0, the installation process provides a Full installation for all users (i.e. there is no longer a Runtime installation option). This means that every installation now includes the development components of the Agilent IO Libraries Suite software, which allow you to develop your own I/O programs. If you wish to minimize the size of the installed software, select a Custom installation; when you get to the Select Features dialog, do not select the manuals and the sample programs. This section describes how to install Agilent IO Libraries Suite on your PC. The process is as follows: 1 Verify that your PC meets the minimum system requirements. (See System Requirements for Agilent IO Libraries Suite 15 on page 25.) 2 If you are upgrading to IO Libraries Suite from a previous version of IO Libraries, you must remove the instruments and interfaces listed below before you upgrade your software. This step is necessary in order for these devices to obtain the correct drivers to work with Agilent IO Libraries Suite. a Disconnect any USB instruments from your PC. b Disconnect any Agilent 82357 USB/GPIB interface converters from your PC. c Disconnect any Agilent E8491 IEEE 1394 PC Link to VXI interfaces from your PC. 26 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 3 Close all other applications on your PC. NOTE If you install a PCI card in your computer at the same time you install Agilent IO Libraries Suite 15, a possible conflict can occur. The New Hardware Found dialog for the PCI card must be closed before installing IO Libraries. Otherwise the IO Libraries installation will stop until PCI card installation is complete. NOTE If you have NI software installed (such as NI MAX, etc.), then all NI services must be stopped prior to installing IO Libraries. 4 Insert the Automation-Ready CD with Agilent IO Libraries Suite into the CD-ROM drive of your PC. Wait a few seconds for the auto-run window to appear. If the auto-run window does not appear automatically, Click Start > Run... Type <drive>:autorun\auto.exe, where <drive> is your CD drive letter. 5 When the installation start-up window appears, click the Click here to install now button once, and wait for the InstallShield Wizard to appear. Note: you also have the opportunity to watch a two-minute video how easy it is to install, set-up and configure your interfaces and instruments using Agilent IO Libraries Suite 15. 6 If the IVI Shared Components and IVI VISA COM Standard Components are not already installed on your PC, Agilent IO Libraries Suite installs them in the standard, default locations. NOTE The IVI Shared Components and IVI VISA COM Standard Components are installed in default folders. However, if you need to install the IVI Components in a unique location refer to Custom Installation of IVI Shared Components at the end of this chapter Agilent Connectivity Guide 27
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 7 When the InstallShield Wizard appears, click Next > to begin the IO Libraries Suite software installation. 8 Read the License Agreement(s). If you accept the terms, click the radio button labeled I accept the terms of the license agreement and then click Next > to continue. 9 When the InstallShield Wizard Setup Type dialog box appears, as shown, select Typical or Custom, then click OK. The Typical setup installs the recommended features for your configuration in standard locations on your PC. In a Typical setup, if another vendor s VISA software is already installed on this PC, Agilent VISA is installed as secondary. If no other vendor s VISA software is found on this PC, Agilent VISA is installed as primary. (See Using Agilent VISA in Side-by-Side Mode on page 37.) Figure 5 Choosing Setup Type NOTE: If you accept the Typical Installation, click Next and proceed to Step 13, Start Copying Files, on page 30. If you chose the Custom Installation radio button, click Next and proceed with Step 10 below. 28 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 10 If you chose the Custom setup and you do not have another vendor s VISA implementation installed on your PC, then you will see the dialog box below, which asks whether you want to install Agilent VISA as the primary VISA. Figure 6 Agilent VISA as Primary VISA If you do not have another vendor s VISA installed, you will see a similar dialog box, but the check box will be not selected, indicating that the default is to install Agilent VISA as primary. For details on this topic, see Using Agilent VISA in Side-by-Side Mode on page 37. 11 If you chose a Custom setup, the next dialog shows the location of: The IO Libraries Suite Destination Folder Agilent VISA Destination Folder IVI Components Destination Folder The VISA and IVI destinations are greyed out. They are for information only. In order to change them you must follow the instructions in Custom Install the IVI Shared Components on page 41. Agilent Connectivity Guide 29
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 12 If you chose a Custom setup, you will now see the Select Features dialog box. Click on any feature in the list to see the feature description and the space requirements for the selected set of features. It is recommended that you install the manuals and sample programs if you plan to program with the Agilent IO Libraries; however, you may omit them to save space. Select the check box for each feature to be installed. Clear the check box for each feature to omit. When you are done selecting features, click Next >. 13 The Start Copying Files dialog appears; click Install to begin copying files. If the Microsoft.NET Framework version 2.0 has not previously been installed on your PC, IO Libraries will install them; this may take up to ten minutes. The Microsoft.NET Framework provides necessary infrastructure for Agilent IO Libraries Suite utilities, as well as for.net programming tools and many other applications. You will only need to install the.net Framework once, even if you remove and reinstall or upgrade your IO Libraries Suite. Figure 7 Copying Files 30 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 14 After the files have been copied, you may see a dialog asking you to restart your PC. This occurs only if you have certain I/O hardware configurations. If you choose not to reboot at this time, you should reboot before running Connection Expert. 15 When the InstallShield Wizard Complete dialog appears indicating that Agilent IO Libraries was successfully installed: a Click Finish to close the window b Or click on one of the product/solution links for information on other Agilent solutions. 16 Click the IO control icon ( ) in lower right Windows Notification area to run Agilent IO Libraries. 17 If you are installing Agilent IO Libraries Suite along with another instrument, interface, or software package such as Agilent VEE, there may be another CD with additional software (drivers, sample programs, etc.). If you want to install this additional software, Insert the CD into the CD drive on your PC. Follow the instructions that came with the CD or the hardware or software product. 18 Re-connect any USB instruments or E8491 IEEE-1394 FireWire to VXI interfaces that you may have disconnected in step 2. Install any new hardware. 19 If Connection Expert is already running, click the Refresh All button to identify any hardware you have just installed or re-connected. If Connection Expert is not already running, run it now to verify your I/O configuration: In the Windows Notification area, click the IO icon ( ), then click Agilent Connection Expert. a Locate your interfaces and instruments in the Explorer Pane. Click on them to see their properties (displayed in the right-hand pane). Observe their state, also displayed in the right-hand pane: if communication to the interface or instrument has been successfully established, it will be in the Verified state, denoted by a green check mark. b Change the default I/O configuration (if necessary) by clicking Change Properties... in the property pane of the interface or instrument you wish to configure. Agilent Connectivity Guide 31
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite NOTE If you plan to program your GPIB instruments using the Agilent 488 API, or to run NI-488.2 compatible programs with Agilent interface hardware (such as GPIB cards), you may need to enable the Agilent 488 library. To do this, click Tools > Agilent 488..., then select the check box labeled Enable Agilent GPIB cards for 488 programs. c If you would like to test your connections manually, select your instrument, right-click and choose Send Commands To This Instrument. Installation Troubleshooting If you encounter problems while installing the IO Libraries Suite, the following steps may help. 1 Close or Cancel all InstallShield Wizards and other Agilent IO Libraries Suite windows. Exit any other applications on your system. 2 Browse to the autorun folder of your Automation-Ready CD and double-click to run auto.exe. This restarts the installation process. 3 If you see the standard InstallShield Wizard, step through the installation process as described in this chapter. 4 If you see Modify, Repair, and Remove options, select Repair. This will reinstall all installed features of IO Libraries Suite. If this does not solve the problem, restart the installation again, select Remove, and then reinstall the product. Vista Installation with UAC Disabled If you experience problems installing Agilent IO Libraries on a system with Windows Vista OS, you may have User Account control (UAC) Enabled. Typically, you may get an error message stating that a directory name is invalid. UAC must be Disabled prior to installing IO Libraries. To disable UAC: 1 Log into your system with Administrator privileges. 2 Left mouse click the Start button (lower right-hand corner). 32 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 3 Click Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policies 4 Click Local Policies > Security Options 5 Scroll down to the bottom of the Policy list. You may also need to increase the width of the Policy pane. 6 Locate the policy, User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode. 7 If it is Enabled, you must change it to Disabled. 8 Right mouse click on the UAC and select Properties. Select the Disabled radio button and click OK. 9 Close out of all the windows. 10 You must reboot your computer before the setting will take place. Agilent Connectivity Guide 33
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Selecting Application Software When You Want to: This table gives guidelines for using additional I/O software. Use This Software: Instrument Web Browser (Product Design or Product Characterization) Remotely communicate with instruments from your PC, but do not need to program the instruments. (The IO Libraries are not required.) Provides a soft front panel displayed on your Web browser that you can use to control the instrument (Web-enabled instruments only). Agilent IntuiLink (Product Design or Product Characterization) Remotely communicate with instruments from your PC, but do not need to program the instruments (The IO Libraries are required.) Provides a soft front panel specific t o an instrument that you can use to control instruments. IVI-COM Drivers (Product Characterization or Product Test) IVI-COM drivers that implement standard instrument-class interfaces provide syntactical interchangeability; this means that you may be able to replace an instrument in your test system with another, similar instrument with fewer changes or even no changes to your test program, depending on your use of instrument-specific interfaces. IVI-COM drivers are implemented as COM (Microsoft Common Object Model) objects, and are therefore optimized and recommended for use in Microsoft Visual Studio and Visual Studio.NET. VXIplug&play Drivers (Product Characterization or Product Test) VXIplug&play drivers allow you to develop application programs that are portable across many computer platforms and I/O interfaces. VXIplug&play drivers (also known as Plug&Play or Universal Instrument Drivers) conform to a set of system-level standards produced by the VXIplug&play Systems Alliance. These standards apply to instrument drivers, soft front panels, installation packages, documentation, technical support and application development environments. VXIplug&play drivers are widely used and based on the VISA API. 34 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 Modifying, Repairing, or Removing IO Libraries Suite 1 Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs 2 Select Agilent IO Libraries Suite. 3 Click Change/Remove. 4 Select the action you want to take: Modify: Adds, replaces, or removes selected features. You can change your installation from primary to side-by-side or from side-by-side to primary by using this option. You can also use this to install manuals or sample code if you did not initially install them. Repair: Reinstalls all features. Remove: Removes the product from your PC. Keeping Your Software Up To Date Web resource for the latest IO Libraries Suite software: http://www.agilent.com/find/iolib When you update the IO Libraries Suite software, your test system configuration is preserved and passed on to the new installation. This includes the instruments, instrument aliases, interfaces, and all related properties. Web resource for the latest instrument drivers: http://www.agilent.com/find/drivers This Web site includes many types of instrument drivers, including IVI-COM and VXIplug&play drivers. Agilent Connectivity Guide 35
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Using Agilent 488 in Multi-Vendor Systems Agilent IO Libraries Suite includes the Agilent 488 library, allowing you to use your National Instruments NI-488.2 and other vendors 488 libraries compatible programs with Agilent GPIB interfaces and other vendors interfaces (even simultaneously). If your test system includes only Agilent GPIB interface hardware and software, you do not need to take any special action to use Agilent 488. If your system includes NI-488.2 software from National Instruments, or any other vendor s compatible implementation, you may need to explicitly enable Agilent 488. To do this, click Tools > Agilent 488..., then select the check box labeled Enable Agilent GPIB cards for 488 programs. NOTE If you install Agilent IO Libraries Suite on a PC that has third-party 488 library software (such as NI-488.2) already installed, or if you subsequently install such third-party software, Agilent 488 will automatically be disabled. If you want to use Agilent 488, you must re-enable it after installing any third-party 488 library. Although Agilent 488 does not conflict with NI-488.2 and both libraries can be used simultaneously, some National Instruments software may display error messages when Agilent 488 is enabled; for example, you may see the message Missing or Damaged GPIB-32.DLL when you attempt to use National Instruments Measurement & Automation Explorer to change the properties of an NI GPIB interface. If this occurs: 1 Disable Agilent 488: in Connection Expert, click Tools > Agilent 488... and clear (deselect) the check box labeled Enable Agilent GPIB cards for 488 programs. 2 Perform the operation that caused the error (such as changing the properties of the NI interface). 3 Re-enable Agilent 488: in Connection Expert, click Tools > Agilent 488... and select the check box labeled Enable Agilent GPIB cards for 488 programs. (In a few cases, you may be prompted to restart your PC before you can successfully enable or disable Agilent 488.) 36 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 Using Agilent VISA in Side-by-Side Mode Agilent IO Libraries Suite includes an implementation of VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture), one of three available application programming instruments for instrument control. The VISA standard requires that visa32.dll, the dynamic-link library that implements the VISA interface, be installed in prescribed locations; therefore, only one installed implementation (the primary implementation) can fully comply with the standard at any one time. Because of this, you must take special care if you want to use Agilent IO Libraries Suite alongside any other implementation of VISA, such as National Instruments NI-VISA. When you have both Agilent VISA and another vendor's VISA installed on the same system, you will need to decide whether to let your programs use the primary VISA or whether to explicitly direct them to use the Agilent VISA implementation. NOTE You do not need to install NI-VISA to use National Instruments GPIB cards and devices. You can install National Instruments NI-488.2 as a driver for these devices, and avoid the complications of side-by-side operations. Agilent IO Libraries Suite supports the option to install Agilent VISA in side-by-side mode, which allows Agilent VISA to be used simultaneously with another vendor's VISA implementation. In side-by-side mode, Agilent VISA is installed only in a secondary location and therefore does not overwrite another vendor's VISA if it is present on the computer. In general, non-agilent VISA implementations do not support operation as the secondary VISA (in side-by-side mode). This means that you must operate Agilent VISA in side-by-side mode as the secondary VISA, and the other vendor's VISA as primary. About primary and secondary VISA: VISA programs normally use visa32.dll, which is installed in the Windows system directory. This is the primary VISA, as defined by the VISA standard. Agilent Connectivity Guide 37
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite Agilent VISA is implemented in agvisa32.dll, which is also installed in the Windows system directory. If Agilent VISA is installed as primary, the Agilent version of visa32.dll is installed in the Windows system directory. It simply forwards all VISA calls to agvisa32.dll. If you install Agilent VISA as primary, all files needed to support side-by-side mode are also installed. This means that if you subsequently install another vendor's VISA as primary, you can still use Agilent VISA as secondary. If Agilent VISA is installed in side-by-side mode (as the secondary VISA): agvisa32.dll is installed, but Agilent's visa32.dll is not. Thus, it will not overwrite another vendor's visa32.dll residing in the standard location. Agilent support files are not installed in the bin, include and lib directories of the VISA path (e.g. c:\program files\visa\winnt), since they would overwrite the other vendor's support files. Copies of the Agilent versions of the VISA support files reside in the agbin, include and lib subdirectories under <VISA path>\ agvisa. (These files are installed even when Agilent VISA is primary.) The IO Control menu and the status bar at the bottom of the Connection Expert window will contain a message indicating whether Agilent VISA is installed as primary, installed as secondary, or installed as primary but overwritten by another vendor's VISA. In the latter case, Agilent VISA will operate identically to a secondary installation. VISA programs that are linked to the standard VISA DLL (e.g. C:\ WINDOWS\system32\visa32.dll) will use the primary VISA. However, if a VISA program is linked with agvisa32.lib or dynamically loads agvisa32.dll, it will always use Agilent VISA (regardless of whether Agilent VISA is primary or secondary). Addressing is identical regardless of whether you are using the primary or secondary VISA in your program. See the Agilent IO Libraries Suite Online Help for more information about side-by-side VISA operation. 38 Agilent Connectivity Guide
Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 2 Custom Installation of IVI Shared Components For most Agilent IO Libraries Suite v15 installations, the normal, default installation of the IVI Shared Components is appropriate. However, if you need to install the IVI Shared Components in a unique location, you must first un-install both the IVI Shared Components and the IVI VISA COM Standard Components installation with the Windows Add or Remove Programs ; available in the Windows Control Panel. Then, manually re-install both programs in the desired location. Agilent IO Libraries Suite v15 does not need to be re-installed. Uninstall the IVI Shared Components 1 In Windows XP, click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. In Windows Vista, click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features. 2 Select IVI Shared Components then click the Change/Remove button (Windows XP) or Uninstall/Change (Windows Vista). 3 Select the Complete - Removes all IVI Shared Components from your system radio button as shown in Figure 8 below. Figure 8 Uninstall all of the IVI Shared Component files Agilent Connectivity Guide 39
2 Installing Agilent I/O Libraries Suite 4 When asked if you want to completely remove the program, select Yes. 5 Again, from Windows XP, click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. In Windows Vista, click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features. 6 Select the IVI VISA Com Standard Components. This removes the IVI VISA COM Standard Components, VXIPNP registry keys and attempts to remove the VXIPNP folders if they are empty. Select the radio button as shown in Figure 9 below. Figure 9 Uninstall all of the IVI VISA COM Standard Components 7 When asked if you want to completely remove the program, select Yes. 8 When you have completely removed both programs, continue on to the Custom Installation Procedure on the next page. 40 Agilent Connectivity Guide